We have a slow leak at the propeller shaft on our Oday 25 with an inboard 9 hp Yanmar. The picture shows the location of the leak. I have tried tightening the connection (name?), but did not push to hard with fear of making it worse. The bolt seemed frozen. Any suggestions would be very helpfull. Thank You
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Stuffing box
Rick - That's what it's called. Looking at your picture, see where the drip is? That thin nut is the lock nut, the big one in front of it is the packing nut. First, soak the whole thing good with WD-40 and let it penetrate. Then use two 10 or 12" pipe wrenches, one on the lock nut, and one on the packing nut, and break them free. You want to turn the lock nut toward the back of the boat, and the packing nut toward the front of the boat. Looks like there's plenty of thread behind the lock nut - after you break them free, you may be able to tighten the packing nut to stop the drip. Then tighten the lock nut on the packing nut. You may need to change the packing material - easy job. Check the archives for a complete description. While you're at it, take a wire brush to that shaft coupling, get the rust off, and spray it with black rustoleum paint.
Rick - That's what it's called. Looking at your picture, see where the drip is? That thin nut is the lock nut, the big one in front of it is the packing nut. First, soak the whole thing good with WD-40 and let it penetrate. Then use two 10 or 12" pipe wrenches, one on the lock nut, and one on the packing nut, and break them free. You want to turn the lock nut toward the back of the boat, and the packing nut toward the front of the boat. Looks like there's plenty of thread behind the lock nut - after you break them free, you may be able to tighten the packing nut to stop the drip. Then tighten the lock nut on the packing nut. You may need to change the packing material - easy job. Check the archives for a complete description. While you're at it, take a wire brush to that shaft coupling, get the rust off, and spray it with black rustoleum paint.
One more point!
The stuffing box is supposed to leak. When properly adjusted it should drip once or twice every minute at rest and a bit more while running. The water lubricates the shaft as it turns in the packing mnaterial. If there is not a sufficient flow of water, it will heat up, fry the packing flax and increase the wear on the shaft. If it is properly adjusted the stuffing box will be warm to the touch after running for a few minutes. If it becomes hot to the touch, it is too dry. The only downside of too wet, is that it runs the bige pump excessively and keeps your bilges wet, promoting mildew. Running the pump too much is tough on the batteries and could result in premature failure of the pump. One should always have a back-up pump. Some of us consider the ideal system as having a small automatic electric pump to keep the bilge relatively dry, a large emergency electric back-up pump having a float switch mounted higher in the bilge with a high volume manual pump mounted near the helm. All pumps should have a screened pick-up tube mounted securely in the lowest part of the bilge.
The stuffing box is supposed to leak. When properly adjusted it should drip once or twice every minute at rest and a bit more while running. The water lubricates the shaft as it turns in the packing mnaterial. If there is not a sufficient flow of water, it will heat up, fry the packing flax and increase the wear on the shaft. If it is properly adjusted the stuffing box will be warm to the touch after running for a few minutes. If it becomes hot to the touch, it is too dry. The only downside of too wet, is that it runs the bige pump excessively and keeps your bilges wet, promoting mildew. Running the pump too much is tough on the batteries and could result in premature failure of the pump. One should always have a back-up pump. Some of us consider the ideal system as having a small automatic electric pump to keep the bilge relatively dry, a large emergency electric back-up pump having a float switch mounted higher in the bilge with a high volume manual pump mounted near the helm. All pumps should have a screened pick-up tube mounted securely in the lowest part of the bilge.
Hose clamps
Rick, The hose clamps in your picture show signs of corrosion under the tightening bolts. I had similar clamps on the stuffing box on my last boat. While replacing the packing I brushed against one of the clamps and it fell in two. Fortunately the boat was on the hard, but the incident gave me a bit of a fright. I replaced them with AWAB clamps, available at West Marine. This is a well documented problem, thoroughly discussed by Nigel Calder in his book "Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual."
Rick, The hose clamps in your picture show signs of corrosion under the tightening bolts. I had similar clamps on the stuffing box on my last boat. While replacing the packing I brushed against one of the clamps and it fell in two. Fortunately the boat was on the hard, but the incident gave me a bit of a fright. I replaced them with AWAB clamps, available at West Marine. This is a well documented problem, thoroughly discussed by Nigel Calder in his book "Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual."
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